Academic jury project / Growth 2024

Harborea

A green rosary reconnecting Dorcol's urban fabric with the Danube waterfront in Belgrade.

Project type: Academic jury project
Location: Dorcol, Belgrade
Role: Concept, landscape design and representation

The third bead of the rosary

A landscape stitch between city and river.

Harborea addresses the separation between Dorcol and the Danube. Railway infrastructure, large industrial plots and privatized edges leave the waterfront disconnected from the surrounding urban fabric, despite its proximity to Kalemegdan and central Belgrade.

The proposal turns this barrier condition into a continuous green framework. A sequence of public landscapes, active waterfront spaces and ecological connections forms the Green Rosary: a route that reclaims access to the river while giving existing infrastructure and open land a shared civic role.

Jury materials

From fragmented edge to connected waterfront.

01 / Territorial framework

The Green Rosary as a city-scale connector.

The project reads the Danube edge as a sequence of linked landscape rooms. Harborea becomes the third bead in a larger green corridor that ties public access, ecological structure and everyday movement into one continuous system.

Extends a green route through the existing barrier-driven urban structure.
Uses the waterfront as public landscape infrastructure rather than a residual edge.
Connects neighbourhoods, open land and riverfront destinations through a legible sequence.

Harborea Green Rosary diagram showing five connected landscape beads along the Belgrade waterfront

Conceptual diagram showing the Green Rosary connection through Harborea — The conceptual diagram locates Harborea within a larger waterfront network.

Design intent

Reconnect the river to daily life.

Paths, planting and public programmes bridge the threshold between the city, the rail corridor and the Danube.

02 / Waterfront masterplan

A connected civic landscape of parks, culture and movement.

The masterplan introduces a layered public realm at the waterfront. New paths connect commercial blocks, cultural destinations, open-air exhibition space, play and sport landscapes, while the river edge becomes a continuous promenade.

Threads a pedestrian and cycling route through new and existing urban destinations.
Balances active programming with broad planted areas and ecological continuity.
Creates an accessible waterfront from the city edge to the Danube promenade.

Harborea 1 to 1000 masterplan for the Dorcol waterfront

Harborea programme diagram showing waterfront uses, cultural spaces and park activities — Programme distributes cultural, recreational and waterfront uses across the landscape.

Detailed Harborea landscape plan showing planting zones and movement loops — A planted movement loop creates a slower, more varied public experience.

03 / Landscape experience

Topography, planting and public space at the human scale.

Sections and perspective views test how the Green Rosary is experienced on the ground. Soft landform, shade, paths and activity spaces make the waterfront a place to pause as well as a route through the district.

Sections coordinate changing ground levels, planting structure and public access.
Garden rooms and a shaded promenade support everyday use at different scales.
Continuous loops connect active play, quiet planting and riverfront gathering spaces.

Aerial visualization of Harborea's connected park paths and public spaces

Harborea sections showing planted slopes, a bridge and river-edge public space — Sections establish the relationship between planted topography, crossing and public ground.

Harborea garden perspective with planting, shade and seating — Garden rooms turn the former edge into a comfortable civic landscape.

Harborea promenade perspective with a colonnade, planting and pedestrian route — A shaded promenade gives the waterfront a clear and welcoming public threshold.

Harborea aerial view of a circular park path and recreation spaces — Loops, clearings and planted ground make the park both a destination and part of the wider route.

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